Cookies on the Arsenal WebsiteWe use cookies to improve your browsing experience and help us improve our websites. We and carefully selected third parties use cookies to show you more relevant ads online. For more information, please click here. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our use of such cookies.

'I believe our pace gave them problems'

On Roma’s positive gameplan…“The game was more positive than what we saw on Saturday and both teams tried to play and go forward. I believe our pace gave them problems in the first half and in the second half we had one chance after the other. At that moment there was room to score. When we tired in the last 20 minutes you saw that they could be dangerous as well.On Nicklas Bendtner’s performance…“Maybe he lacked a bit of spontaneous attitude because we want to play so well and do so much. I still believe that defensively we had a sound performance and we didn’t concede a goal as well.”

On the contrast with Saturday’s match…“I believe that the games are locked in the Premier League because the teams refuse to play. When teams don’t come out, the game doesn’t go up and down. We had no space on Saturday and as long as you don’t score the first goal, that is what you get. In a game like tonight both teams take initiative when they win the ball back which isn’t the case at the moment in the Premier League.”

On the performance of match-winner Robin van Persie…“I wanted him to play because we’ve had problems scoring goals. I wanted to play him closer to the goal and put Samir Nasri central to give him a more creative role in our build-up. I believe it worked quite well and we always looked like we could be dangerous going forward. Overall I am very pleased with Robin’s attitude and performances since the start of the season.”On starting the second half with only nine men…“Kolo always goes out for the second half last so he waited for William who was having treatment at half time. They didn’t know the game had started without them and they were putting their boots on. It was our fault because you have to be ready when the bell rings. I played at a time when we didn’t even go in the dressing room at half time!"On Francesco Totti’s contribution…“I felt we kept him quiet by protecting the centre well. Also we were dominating the game so he didn’t get much service.”

On Denilson’s role in the midfield…“I still believe that Denilson has had a good season. Since January he has become more dominant in the defensive area of the game. He is 20-years-old and he hasn’t missed a game since the first game of the season. It’s a fantastic performance.”

Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source

Please ensure you enter the correct Date of Birth as it will be required if you need to reset your password

Please ensure that you enter your parents email address and click here to review our privacy policy for those who are under 13. Please note that an email address can only be used once to register as a Digital Member so you cannot register for both an adult and junior membership under the same email address.

Mobile Number

* Country

* State

Language Preference

* Postcode

* Email Address

* Confirm Email Address

* Password

* Confirm Password

Get all the news from Arsenal.com

Weekly E-Newsletter (only in English)I would like to receive the weekly e-newsletter which includes match reviews and offers from The Arsenal Football Club plc and its commercial partners.

Club Information and Offers (only in English)I would like to receive information and offers relating to The Arsenal Football Club plc.

Offers and Information about Commercial Partners (only in English)I would like to receive information and offers relating to The Arsenal Football Club plc's commercial partners.For further details, see our Privacy Policy or write to us at Data Protection Officer, The Arsenal Football Club PLC, 75 Drayton Park, London N5 1BU